reading comprehension Archives

Reading test prep strategies for elementary students

Powerful Reading Test Prep Strategies That Work for Elementary Students

2 Comments / test prep, anchor charts, reading, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

Updated 11/20/2023 In the elementary classroom, reading test prep can feel like a long, torturous journey of practice tests and skill review that both students and teachers dread. But, by teaching students powerful test-taking strategies that support reading comprehension and critical thinking, students can build strong reading habits AND perform better on tests. Here, you’ll […]

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Read Aloud Round Up: Chapter Books

6 Comments / reading, class library, classroom, literacy, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

A teacher I deeply admire once told me that children should be read aloud to at least 6 times a day while at school. She made a point to read aloud a picture book (or two or three), some nonfiction texts, some poetry, and a few pages of a chapter book every single day in her

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Standardized Test Prep Tips

7 Comments / reading, literacy, math, reading comprehension, test prep / Teacher Trap

Today’s elementary students face standardized testing stress that most of us never experienced as children. The tests aren’t simply harder, they require critical thinking and test-taking skills that I didn’t need until high school or beyond! Because of this massive increase in rigor, teachers must develop new and creative ways of helping our kids prepare. The

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How to Launch Classroom Book Clubs in One Week: Literature Circles in Action

6 Comments / reading, literacy, literacy block, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

Classroom Book Clubs transformed my reading instruction and led to huge gains in my students’ reading comprehension and fluency. Similar to Literature Circles, Classroom Book Clubs put the student in the driver’s seat and encourage each child to take ownership of their reading and learning. Surprisingly, Classroom Book Clubs are easy to launch and work

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Boost Your Reading Block

11 Comments / anchor charts, fluency, literacy, literacy block, organization, reading, reading comprehension, routines / Teacher Trap

Over the years, I have structured my Reading Block in so many different ways. My classroom has been the testing ground for everything from the Four Blocks Model to Literacy Stations to Daily 5 to Reading Workshop. And for every system I’ve tried, there are parts that work wonderfully for my students and parts that

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Independent Reading Time

9 Comments / routines, class library, fluency, literacy, literacy block, organization, reading, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

Independent Reading, also know as DEAR, Read to Self, Read On Your Own, or Self-Selected Reading Time, is an essential part of every school day. With some simple planning and focused instruction, independent reading time can also be one of the most POWERFUL parts of every school day. Nancie Atwell has an amazing book called The

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tips for teaching character traits and changes

5 Easy Ways to Teach Character Traits and Changes

17 Comments / anchor charts, class library, literacy, reading, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

Understanding characters is an essential reading comprehension skill that many students find challenging. To master this tricky skill, you’ll want to teach character traits and changes by breaking down the concepts into manageable parts that help students learn to infer character traits from text evidence and describe character changes over time. Why is Teaching Character

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Buddy Reading Boost!

2 Comments / literacy, reading, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

I’ve always included Buddy Reading as a daily activity during my literacy block and I’ve always felt like it was a mildly effective but important way to help kids grow their fluency (and sometimes comprehension.) But observing my 3rd graders this year, I really wanted to make it more powerful. I can’t believe how easy

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Comprehension Read Alouds

4 Comments / literacy, reading, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

The Hands Down Greatest Books Ever for Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies! I’m always getting new ideas of books to use for teaching various comprehension strategies, but again and again I fall back on a few favorites. I don’t know if they really are the best, but I know that every time I use these books

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Reading Response

Leave a Comment / literacy, reading, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

This is my new favorite thing! Everyday my kids follow the same routine for our one hour Reading Block. It goes like this: Mini-lesson (read-aloud/think-aloud) 15 min Read to Self 15 min Buddy Reading 15 min Choice Time 15 min I’ve tried Daily 5, Four Blocks model, literacy centers, rotations, etc, but this

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Context Clues

2 Comments / reading, anchor charts, literacy, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

For some kids, using context clues to determine the meaning of a word just seems to come naturally. They read a few sentences, zoom in on the clues, and infer the word meaning easily. Unfortunately, the majority of my students struggle with vocabulary and using context clues. I’ve found the key to helping students uncover

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Reading is Thinking!

2 Comments / anchor charts, literacy, literacy block, reading, reading comprehension / Teacher Trap

I have always been fascinated by the idea of teaching reading. As a child, I don’t remember learning to read, it was just something I knew how to do. It seemed to be a natural progression from listening to bedtime stories and watching the words on the page go by to suddenly knowing the meaning

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reading comprehension